Fake Out
by MerpsiclesTheGreat
Summary: [Inspired by @mefelixsta on tumblr] Nagisa finds out that a student of his is head over heels for him to the point where he pesters him continuously. Nagisa doesn't know what to do, but his best friend has a suggestion that may fix everything. Then again, Karma's plans feel they should have consequences...
1. Karma's Plan

[inspired by mefelixsta]

I love my new job.

My first week was especially rough. My first teaching job, of course, had to be the gang version of the End Class. The room was in terrible condition, the students refused to listen to me and even threatened me, and the rest of school didn't necessarily care for the students' well-being.

Several months later, after many struggles and assassination attempts against me, I managed to teach them all they needed to know for their exams and earned their respect. Some students even gained a passion for learning and asked for help outside of the classroom. Especially Aito Mito.

Mito would stay after class every day for one-on-one tutoring. His determination caused a drastic increase in his grades, and seeing him work so hard because of my teachings couldn't have made me happier.

"Mr. Shiota! Could you help me with math today? I don't really understand this exponential thing…" Mito held his worksheet carefully between his index fingers and thumbs.

I looked up from the papers I was grading and greeted my student with a smile. "Of course! Even though I'm sure you'll do fine on the test."

Mito blushed and laughed, waving it off with humble embarrassment. He lingered by my desk a bit longer but never asked another question before returning to his desk.

"So, you see, the exponents are these tiny numbers to the top right of the bigger number. Now that means…" I pointed to the basic structure of the equation with the tip of my pencil, going into enough detail to get the point across but not too confusing. I occasionally scanned Mito's face to be sure he understood. Our eyes would lock from time to time and his face would change to look like a ripe tomato, sending him into a flustered state and speedy redirection of his gaze. I hoped my smile brought him assurance.

The tutoring session was nearly over, and Mito was working on a practice problem on his own. A familiar knocking pattern broke the working silence and brought a smile to my face. I turned to the door, happy to confirm my suspicions.

"Yo, Nagisa." Karma pushed the door open and leaned against the frame, twirling his keys on his index finger with a menacing smile on his face. "Thought we were gonna hang today. I even had a wicked surprise planned."

"I'm not so sure that's a surprise I want to be a part of," I sighed. Getting used to Karma's shenanigans was no easy task, even for as long as I'd known him. "Just hang on a minute. I gotta finish tutoring-"

"Who's that?" Mito interrupted with a scowl. His harsh tone momentarily caught me off guard; he acts like an angel around me, but I forgot about his trust issues. I brushed off the harsh remark and stood to introduce Karma. Hopefully, it would make him seem like less of a threat.

"Oh! I'm sorry for not introducing you," I gestured my hands towards Karma, smoothly ignoring his teasing glare. "This is Mr. Akabane. He's been a friend of mine since-"

"Yeah, well, I gotta go anyway." Mito huffed and roughly slung his deflated backpack over his shoulder. Karma and I watched him stomp away, showing no signs of stopping no matter how much I called.

"...I wonder what got to Mito…" I huffed disappointedly. "I wish I could have made that go a bit more smoothly."

"Nah, don't worry about it, Nagi'." Karma playfully hit my shoulder reassuringly, and I felt my worries melt away. "Let's go. There're some stupid plebeians I wanna fuck with."

"I'm glad you're using your political power for good." I knew from the beginning what a terrible idea it was for Karma to have a position of such unyielding power, but he was way too smart for anything less. "Whatever, let's go."

Karma led me to a very expensive looking convertible with a shiny red polish. Leather seats reflected the sun, easily accessible because the top was down. In place of fuzzy dice hanging from the mirror was a custom made decoration that made me instantly nostalgic: a pair of knives meant to assassinate Koro-sensei, the connecting string laced with anti-me BB pellets like a beaded necklace.

"Woah, this car is amazing," I closed in cautiously, almost afraid to break something just by existing near it. "Did you make that decoration?"

"Nah, Sugaya did." Karma unlocked the car and slid to the driver's side naturally. I, on the other hand, felt like sasquatch trying to fit into a ballroom event. "He made them for everyone kinda recently, but he couldn't get a hold of you. So he asked me to give you to yours."

I watched with anticipation as he reached into the back seat to grab a gift bag and hand it to me. I checked the inside and felt my heart warm at the sight of those familiar knives we had to wield nearly a decade ago.

"Thanks, Karma! This is amazing." I looked at his face and noticed his distracted look somewhere behind me. Before I could ask, he locked eyes with me and smiled. I lost all desire to investigate further.

"Now, for the plebeian fucking."

"I would feel more comfortable if you didn't say it like that."

Karma laughed and started up the car absentmindedly, effortlessly steering with one hand while the other lay on the back of my seat.

We chatted about recent business and laughed at each other's stupid jokes until we got to a small ice cream and smoothie shop across the street from the city's largest park.

"I didn't take you for a smoothie kind of guy, Karma," I teased him. "Smoothies aren't very manly or 'government official'."

"And here I thought we were friends," he shook his head disappointedly, but I could see the smirk he was trying to hide.

I reached to open the door, but Karma slapped my arm before I could even touch the handle. I rubbed my shoulder defensively and shot him the dirtiest glare I could muster.

"Hey, I'm the chauffeur. I just want to be a gentleman, so don't look at me like that." Despite his explanation-which I didn't believe, but I decided to humor him anyway-my glare pursued.

I watched him closely while he walked around the car and opened the passenger side door. The soft smile and "after you" arm extension created an uneasy setting in my stomach, but I accepted his act of kindness and stepped into the parking lot.

"You ever been here? I prefer their smoothies, but I think you'll like their frozen yogurt. You can decorate it however you want." Karma continued, listing every flavor he could remember, and he opened the shop door for me before I even raised my hand.

The inside had an entire wall dedicated to frozen yogurt flavors and their individual dispensers, leading to a counter loaded with dozens of different toppings and the cashier directly after. I looked over the menu at the smoothie options but decided on froyo instead.

"Wow, you're boring," Karma commented on my froyo creation. "There was blueberry, cheesecake, cookies and cream, birthday cake, and even churro french toast breakfast special. And you chose...vanilla."

"Look, if I wanted your critique, I would have asked for it." I was pretty offended. Vanilla tastes good, and it's very refreshing. Who is he to judge my froyo?

"It wasn't critique, it was me being a subjective shit."

Karma led me to the register with one of his arms ghosting my back. He ordered some fancy sounding smoothie that I planned on judging angrily, but it looked very delicious. It took me a while to notice his hand traveling down my back and resting at my waist. I looked up at him in question, but his head was turned to look at something behind us.

"Karma? What are you…?" My voice faded in the middle of the sentence. I tried to look at what had his attention, but a gentle squeeze on my waist brought my eyes back to him. His reassuring smile brought the uneasy feeling in my gut back, but I didn't question it.

Karma paid for both of us, despite my protests, and led us to the park down the street. The vast, grassy field was always populated with cheerful kids and adults enjoying the embracing sun. In other words, it was a perfect place for "people watching".

I followed Karma to a wooden bench shaded by a tall cherry blossom tree, and we took a seat. I waited with amused anticipation for what my best friend had in store for these innocent civilians, but I was rightfully taken back when he instead turned his attention towards me.

"So, how are you liking your teaching job?"

I wasn't expecting such an honest, considerate question and was instinctively on guard; Karma's tricks always had a reason.

"I love it," I answered truthfully. "The students kind of hated me at first, and I think some of them still do, but they listen to and respect me now."

"What about that kid you were tutoring?" Karma leaned back and crossed his legs casually, sipping on his smoothie.

"Huh? You mean Mito?" I idly twisted my spoon in my froyo, mixing in some nuts I sprinkled on top. "Yeah, he's a great student. He stays every day for extra tutoring, works really hard in class, and hasn't started a fight in months."

"I feel like that last part shouldn't classify as 'good student' quota. It's closer to 'tolerable student'."

"Well, all of my other students fight on the daily basis. If there's one student that doesn't punch a classmate within one hour, they are little saints." I sighed, recalling a day where a fight erupted between two students because they pronounced "caramel" differently. "Hell, you'd be the class pet."

Karma erupted into laughter, nearly shooting a string of smoothie out of his nose. I, understandably so, laughed at his embarrassed misery and received a punch in the arm.

"Does he always follow you around outside of school?"

I nodded and ate a small spoonful of yogurt. I wasn't surprised that Karma noticed. Mito was around seven meters away hiding behind a large tree. We didn't need to look for him to know he was there; our assassin training made up much more aware of our surroundings without thinking too much.

I explained that Mito had been following me around beyond school hours for a few months. Sometimes, once he found out where I lived, he would visit at late hours.

"I caught him sneaking into my house one night," I scraped the last bit of vanilla at the bottom of my cup and set the empty container next to me on the bench. "I was in my office, and I heard a sound in my bedroom. Turns out, he snuck in through the window and sifted through some of my stuff. I saw him just when he was leaving, and I found out he took some of my clothes."

"Woah, what'd you do? You call the cops?"

"No. It's not that big of a deal," I shrugged, watching the blossoms above me sway. "If I called the cops, it could ruin his life. That's the exact opposite of my job."

"Why do you think he does this?" Karma noisily sipped the remaining chunks of strawberry. I could tell by the look in his eyes that he already knew the answer, but he wanted me to get to there myself. He would do this whenever he tutored me back in junior high, especially with science. I always learned best that way in school, but it made me feel incredibly stupid as an adult.

"I think he just has a lot of problems," I crossed my arms defensively. "He may be experiencing some financial issues, and he needs some clothes. It's not a big deal, Karma. I can buy new clothes."

"That's not it, Nagi." Karma put his arm around me on the top of the bench. "I see you still haven't changed."

I raised one of my eyebrows and impatiently tapped my foot. "And that means…?"

"That kid likes you, Nagi. Dare I say: unhealthily, creepily, stalkerish, obsessed, madly in love with you."

I froze nervously and thought about the evidence directing Karma to that conclusion. There wasn't much for me to go off of; my knowledge in the field of love was very limited. He had to be kidding, right? There was no way one of my students could be in LOVE with me… As far as I know, no one has ever been in love with me.

"What makes you think that?" I suddenly felt very uncomfortable knowing I was the subject of someone's love gaze. I could feel Mito's eyes on me, and it sent chills down my spine.

"Well, the stalking and creepy stealing were a pretty big sign," Karma whispered very softly, and I could feel him closing in on me. "I had a feeling when he gave me the death glare in your classroom, so I decided to test my theory.

"I tried doing some mildly romantic things. You know, having my arm around you like this-" he dropped his arm to my waist and pulled me closer to him. I tensed up involuntarily, but Karma's gentle rubs on my hip helped me to relax. "-opening the doors for you, buying you ice cream, etcetera. With every passing action, I felt his bloodlust peak."

As an example, Karma leaned in closely to my ear to whisper very softly ("This is really weird, but I'm trying to look kinda sexy to him, so just bear with me"). I could feel the heat from his breathing and every puff of air from his consonants, making heat rush to my face. Embarrassment shot anxiety through my body, and the spring heat suddenly felt unbearable.

Just as he said, I could sense a huge spike in bloodlust where Mito was standing. But when it reached dangerous levels, I could feel him trying to conceal it. It was definitely forced and unprofessional, but he knew how to do it nonetheless.

"B-But...He…" I racked my brain for excuses; I wasn't used to this kind of attention, and it felt a little threatening. Regardless, I didn't want to put him in any situation that might have put him in danger of a successful life. As a teacher, that would be worse than killing him.

"Just trust me on this. You know me; I like tricks and messing with you, but I wouldn't lie about something as serious as this." Karma's serious tone and caring eyes forced me to believe him. He was right; he would never tease me with intent to seriously hurt me. It was still something I had to get used to.

"What do I do? I thought his stalking was a little dangerous, but I'm worried now that I know he likes me." I wrung my hands anxiously. My hands started turning red and agitated, but I only stopped when Karma's hands enveloped mine.

"I know this is going to me too much for you, but why not get a fake girlfriend? Knowing that you're taken should turn him off." Karma had backed off enough for me to finally be able to breathe. "I'm sure Kaede would love to help."

"No, Mito's in a gang. I don't want to put Kaede in danger…" I restlessly gnawed on my thumb nail. I thought I could see Karma roll his eyes, but I didn't care enough to call him on it. "Plus she's famous. I don't really want to be put in the spotlight for a fake relationship."

We sat in silence, trying to think of a foolproof plan. Time passed, and I realized Karma never moved his arm from my waist when his fingers tapped deliberately.

"I could do it."

"What?!" If my face were suddenly set aflame, I wouldn't have noticed. Everything raised at least ten degrees while I processed his suggestion. "You...want to be...my fake boyfriend?!"

"It's not really a matter of wanting to be your boyfriend, but more that I want to help you," Karma commented with his typical calculating tone like he had merely pitched an idea for a sales company. "This is a dangerous situation. You could easily defend yourself, but I know you won't do anything to one of your students."

I nodded in understanding, avoiding eye contact for the safety of my health. I could tell this situation may kill me through shenanigans or embarrassment, but he was right. I had no choice.

"Besides, after today," Karma pulled me to fit into his side, his other arm scooping under my legs to put me on his lap. Before I could protest, he nuzzled his way into my neck and gently rolled the skin just beneath my ear between his teeth. "He probably thinks we're already dating. I think I could do a pretty good job taking care of you, sweetie.~"

All the air in my lungs bailed, and I knew my face could blend in with Karma's hair. Since my voice failed me, my thoughts were like a broken record practically screaming at me: "This is a terrible idea! This is a terrible idea! This is a terrible idea!"

I never said anything.


	2. Making Dates

**This chapter was initially gonna be combined with the next three because I never know when to stop typing xD so, to spare your eyeballs, I found a way to split them up. I'm sorry if the transitions don't seem to fit ;( my plan was to have only 3 chapters, but then I got more ideas, and...sorry. Hope you still enjoy~~**

I convinced Karma to get me off of his lap, and we sat on the bench in semi-awkward silence. It was awkward for me, at least. Karma seemed perfectly fine and even smug about my flustered state, but I wanted to die.

"We should plan our PDA a little more if you're gonna act like that every time," Karma stood, brushing the fallen cherry blossom petals off of his slacks. He extended his hand towards me, his tall stature towering over me.

"I think we could start with holding hands. Is that okay, Nagi'?"

I looked at his hand for a few moments, before a few realizations came over me: Mito could see my hesitation and may not believe our fake romance. I also realized, with the glint in Karma's eyes and the confidence of his stance, that this was a challenge. Karma wanted to see if I could keep acting, even in stressful situations. The likelihood of Karma trying new and unexpected things to catch me off guard was unbelievably high.

There was no way I was going to let him win.

I placed my hand in his and stood, locking my eyes with his. I made sure he knew that I would not lose, lacing my fingers with his and pressing my chest to his. Even though he was a full head taller than me, I refused to be intimidated.

"Well well, aren't you enthusiastic," Karma smirked and wrapped his free arm around the lowest part of my waist. "That's End Class's number one assassin; never turn down a challenge."

"I hope you know that I'm already regretting this."

"Good."

Before removing his arm, he moved his arm lower and abruptly squeezed my butt and smiled deviously when I squeaked in surprise. I scowled at him, but he was already pulling me toward the trail surrounding the entire park.

"You can't just run ahead like that, Karma!" I finally caught up to him, slightly winded and heavily irritated. "Your legs are, like, half of my height! I can't keep up with you like that."

"Tough shit, babe," Karma smiled and tightened his grip on my hand. I squeezed back and moved closer to him.

We made our way farther onto the trail, slowly approaching a nest of trees cut open by the dirt and stone path. I could sense Mito's bloodlust following us from a safe distance, and I shuddered at the frightening spike when Karma and I entered the woods. Karma might have sensed my tension because he let go of my hand and slung it around my arm. He gave me a comforting squeeze, and I clung to his shirt as close as I could get.

"Good job," Karma whispered. I could barely hear him. "You seem like a scared girl clinging to her boyfriend."

My face flushed, and I almost pushed him away with all of my might. I hadn't even thought about what I was doing; it was second nature. He felt so comforting in that moment that I instinctively drew myself closer to him. I hid my face in his jacket and tried showing my nonexistent confidence through my voice.

"I-I mean, that was the plan, right?" I sounded a lot more panicked than I prefered, so I hoped his jacket muffled it enough to seem convincing. "Th...The more romantic we seem, the better."

He merely hummed in agreement, and we kept walking peacefully. Karma's thumb rubbed gentle circles on my shoulder, and I readily relaxed to the touch. In no time, we were talking like normal. I didn't let go of his jacket, though.

"Hey, Nagi'," Karma interrupted my story about a student who threw several knives at me in a row and I caught all of them with my fingers. "Either he suddenly became an absolute master of hiding his bloodlust, I think your little buddy left."

I searched the area mentally and found no trace of Mito. Relief washed over me, and I suddenly felt completely safe. A small pang in my chest stopped me from letting go of Karma's jacket. I didn't understand what was stopping me, but I knew I wanted to stay exactly how we were.

"Well," I tried to keep my voice as level as possible, though I didn't know why I felt so nervous. "Since he's part of a pretty dangerous gang, maybe he knows some tricks. I mean, there's no point in stopping until I get home."

Karma stopped walking and turned me towards him so I could see the smug smile coating his face. "Ho ho, Nagi'. Are you enjoying this?"

"Of course not, asshole!" I shoved all of my fake anger into my voice, praying that the heat in my face would look more like rage. "It was your plan, and I want it to be as efficient as possible!"

He laughed and snatched my hand into his, locking our fingers and swinging our hands happily. "If you say so, honey.~"

"I'm going to need you to stop with these pet names of yours."

"Then come up with some better ones, love," Karma smiled and tugged on my hand a little. "Come on, I gotta take you home. It's getting dark."

I looked up at the little sky I could see through the treetops. Navy blue shimmers peeked through the gaps of the hundreds of leaves and barely illuminated the path. How did it get so late so fast? I squeezed his hand as a signal for him to start walking.

He led me to his car and opened the door for me, an act that made me genuinely smile. We drove home in comfortable silence, today's excitement covering me in a weary blanket. I gazed out the window, watching the buildings, trees, hydrants, and people speeding by.

All the while, my mind mulled over Karma's passing comment: _"Then come up with some better ones, love."_ For some reason, that's all I was thinking of. I thought of the most lovey-dovey pet names for us I could possibly bear without vomiting. By the time we pulled up to my house I had two that I really liked, but they were far too embarrassing for me to suggest.

"Have a good night, cutie pie," Karma had walked me to the door, and his new pet name threw me off yet again. This time, however, I was ready.

"Sweet dreams, cherry pie!~" I blew him a kiss and winked as seductively as I possibly could. I puffed my chest out in victory when Karma nearly doubled over in laughter. We said our goodbyes, and I watched him drive off into the night.

The next morning, I woke up to the sound of my doorbell chiming through the house. It was Saturday, so I could finally sleep in. I was hoping the ringer would go away after the first time, but three more tries convinced me otherwise.

I forced my slippered feet across the hardwood floors, down the stairs where I almost slipped to my death, and to the front door. By the time I could peer through the peephole, my bathrobe was tied safely around my waist and I mustered enough energy to answer the door without being an unnecessary dick.

"Ooh, sexy!~" I hoped my face of pure dissatisfaction told Karma I did not approve of his comment. "Hey, baby, don't look at me like that. I can't help how I feel when you show up at the door looking like this.~"

"I'm going to slam this door in your face until your nose breaks unless you tell me why you woke me up before noon."

"Harsh," Karma put his hand to his heart with the most sarcastic, offended face created by any human being in the history of all time. "It's the weekend, sugar. I thought we could do more lovey-dovey shit today to piss off your admirer."

As much as I wanted to kick him to the curb and jump back into my bed, I knew he had a point. When I looked at the clock, I realized that a lot of good breakfast diners were open and not too busy yet.

"Fine, whatever," I rubbed the sleepiness from my eyes with the back of my hand and fought back a yawn. "Come on in, I need to get ready. You can just sit on the couch or whatever."

"Or I could watch."

"You're a bag of dicks."

I left him in the living room and went upstairs to take a shower. I could feel my senses perking as the warm water slowly woke me up. By the time I had freshened up and dressed myself in my most casual dress shirt and black slacks, I felt like my normal self. I found Karma sitting casually on my couch, white dress shirt under his open suit jacket and matching dress pants. He was dressed pretty nicely for this spontaneous date, and I hoped I looked fine beside him.

"Alright, I'm ready. What's the plan today?"

"Wow, I never knew you were such an asshole when you're tired," Karma idly tugged on one of his jacket buttons. "Remind me to find a nicer way to wake you up; you're not nearly as cute when you're like that."

"I like my sleep," I commented casually. "You didn't answer my question."

"Sorry, Sleeping Beauty," he stood and walked over to me with a bag I didn't notice he brought. "You forgot this in my car yesterday."

I took the bag and suddenly remembered the dashboard decoration Sugaya made for everyone. Before we left, I placed it next to my entryway table and apologized for leaving it.

He led me to his car and opened the door for me, an action I still wasn't used to. We talked about where we wanted to go for a breakfast date (he suggested a place where I was on the menu which I promptly rejected that notion) and settled on one in an open shopping center.

"I have a story that'll tickle your fancy," Karma started talking when we were looking for a parking spot close to the diner.

"Tickle away," I kept an eye out for a good parking spot but listened attentively.

"When I got home last night-after I parked the car, unlocked my front door and went inside, hung up my coat," Karma recounted normal events while he parked in a spot a few blocks away from the diner. "And a little somebody was hiding outside my house in a perfect spying nook, watching my every move until I faked my slumber."

I blinked at him in shocked disbelief as he walked around the car to open the door for me, but I still sat in the seat stunned.

"Really?! He-"

Karma practically pounced on me, covering my mouth with one hand and steadying me with the other. As he shushed me with strange gentleness, his eyes looked from me to some place behind me repetitively. I focused my senses in that general direction, and I could feel Mito's bloodlust some seven yards away.

I was beginning to feel very nervous, and my eyes looked to Karma's for assurance. He noticed my stressed gaze and smiled, taking his hand from my mouth and placing it under my legs. I didn't protest when he scooped me into his lap as he took my spot in the car seat.

My heart began to slow from its blistering pace to a gentle thump when I lay my head on his shoulder just under his chin. Karma's quiet humming and soothing rubs gave me an untradeable comfort; I didn't notice my eyelids drifted together until he whispered my name audible only to me.

"Nagi', it's not nap time," I blinked sluggishly, momentarily lost and confused. When I came to, my face felt sunburned and my heartbeat was no longer calm. In blind panic, I pushed him away and stood in the street with my back to him. That way, he couldn't see my face as it betrayed my acting efforts.

"I-I know that! It just...seemed like a good romantic thing at the time," I tried ignoring the several cracks in my voice and stepped defensively on the curb. "C-Come on. I want to get to the diner before it gets too busy."

Karma mumbled suspiciously and stood to meet with me on the sidewalk. I tried to ignore the heat in my face and the uneasy churning in my stomach, but Karma's arm hooked around my waist made my symptoms worse.

I was tortured from the embarrassment of finding that kind of comfort from my best friend holding me. I've had Karma help me relax before, so I knew it was normal. I couldn't relax; something about that time was different. Something about that time made my heart race, my legs jelly, my thoughts cloudy, and created a lump in my throat I couldn't swallow away.

I was so distracted, wrapped in my thoughts and endless questions, it took the piercing sound and blistering torridity of two cars colliding with each other only a few feet away from us. I screamed at at a sharp stinging of my left shoulder, and moments later something smashed me in the side. I felt arms around me, and whoever had clung to me rolled with me against the concrete.

All the sound and chaos was muffled and disoriented, and my eyes were closed in reaction to the heat. The first thing I could hear clearly was the sound of my name ringing from the distance.

"Nagisa? Nagisa, can you hear me? Nagisa!" I groaned in confirmation and shifted uncomfortably after being set daintily on the concrete. I heard yelling, screaming, and orders being barked, and I felt some pressure in the center of my chest. Some minutes passed before I could open my eyes, and they nearly popped from my skull.

My head was tilted back with one hand on my forehead and one under my chin, and I was looking directly at Karma's face mere centimeters from mine. I stopped breathing, a log stuck in my lungs, when I noticed his open mouth was dangerously close to mine. Panicking, I sat up as fast as I could, crushing my head against his, and scrambled away.

"Ah, shit," Karma rubbed his head painfully. "Glad you're okay and all, but what the fuck?"

Both of my hands were on my face, and I felt like I was melting. Everything was shaking, and I couldn't sit still. Why was I so nervous? He was only going to do CPR, and we're fake dating so it should be fine. Then why was every part of my body betraying me?

"I-I...I'm sorry, Karma," I choked once I could finally speak. I couldn't make eye contact, so I tried looking around at anything else. The wreck of cars was on fire, the police and an ambulance had already arrived, and a broken off car door had lodged itself in the wall. "What happened here?"

"Two cars crashed into each other at a really high speed, so it just exploded," Karma stood and brushed off his pants. "A huge metal part shot from the wreckage and almost hit you. I tried to get you out of the way in time, but I think it grazed your arm."

I looked where Karma was pointing and saw a cut about the length of a pen on my left shoulder. I touched the area, wincing at the pain, and checking for any signs of infection.

"Is it okay? Do you need to go to the hospital?"

I didn't notice Karma walked closer to me and kneeled at my side, inspecting the wound with a miserably worried expression on his face. He was so close I could smell his unique scent-it was weirdly like a mix of strawberries and kiwi with something fresh smelling underneath-and it was overwhelming.

"N-No, I'm fine," I turned my face away to minimize the scent. "I just need some disinfectant and a gauze. It's not too dangerous."

He didn't respond, and my curiosity made me look at him again. I felt a needle stab my heart when I saw Karma's eyebrows knit with concern, his eyes calculating and wet, and the corners of his mouth were turned down in disapproval. Everything about his expression was purely sad and heartbreaking to look at. Karma was my closest friend, and I couldn't stand seeing him broken.

I raised my hand to his face to caress his cheek into my palm, and I smiled as sweetly as possible. I waited for his eyes to meet mine, so I could whisper to him and him alone.

"Karma, I'm fine, I promise. And don't you go thinking this was your fault because you didn't move me in time. As smart, strong, and brilliant as you are, you can't do everything. You are way too 'cool guy' to worry about stuff like that. Besides," I moved my hand to hold his chin between my thumb and forefinger and brought his face close enough for our noses to barely touch. "You have other things to worry about. Like taking your injured boyfriend home for some comfort food and a cute movie."

Just as I hoped, Karma already looked better. He gave me a smile that made my heart warm, and he moved his nose in gentle circles against mine. We rubbed our noses together before I realized we were eskimo kissing in public after a car crash.

"Come on and take me home. We can go to our breakfast date tomorrow," I stood up with my right hand covering my cut and smiled down at him. "Let's pick up a movie or something."

"Okay, but we'll be watching my choice of movies all night. That includes horror, so make sure you don't shit in your pants."

I slapped his arm as much as I could without hurting mine too much, and we made our way back to his car. We snuck by the police and paramedics with ease since they were focused on the crash itself.

" _This was going to be a great fake date,"_ I thought.

 **Fun fact:** **when I typed 'yawn' earlier, I had to yawn. Yawns suck, yo, but they're weirdly refreshing.**

 **Fun fact p.2:** **I yawned again when I read it again. And again when I accidentally saw this footnote.**


	3. Movie Time

**I don't know why, but I really like the idea of Nagisa NOT being a morning person. It's super funny to me. Sorry if it gets annoying ;( I think this is the last chapter it's used in. But I don't know. So. Get ready for tired, pissy Nagisa.**

Karma gave me some napkins to put over my cut for the time being. I put pressure on the paper towels, and we talked like normal. Suddenly, I remembered something important he was talking about earlier.

"Hey, you said Mito found out where you lived and spied on you last night?"

Karma nodded without taking his eyes off of the road. "Yup. He climbed up a tree and looked at me through my bedroom window."

"That's crazy," I shook my head in disbelief. One of my students was going to so many lengths to stalk and terrorize my personal life. For, what, love?

"Did he do anything else?"

"Well, he just kind of spied on me for a couple hours. I left the shades open on purpose to see what he would do, but I was very disappointed." He shook his head and sighed. "And here I thought I could finally beat up someone after so long."

"Karma, don't hurt him!"

"I won't, and I didn't. I knew you wouldn't like that, and I could end up in trouble with my job." Karma pulled into his garage to his large, two-story house with a penthouse style balcony. Being in power sure gets you a lot of money and benefits, I thought. "I did make sure he won't come back."

"That sounds an awful lot like hurting him," I eyed him suspiciously. He turned off his ignition and turned to face me, offering all of his attention.

"I didn't, trust me. You know how I can appear to some people: crazy, scary, sadistic, gang leader, etcetera," I nodded in full agreement, though the look on his face told me I wasn't supposed to. "I only looked at him through the open window with an anti-me knife in my hand, and he fell out of the tree himself and ran."

I relaxed instantly and rolled my eyes. "The Karma signature smile, eh?"

"Yup!" He gave me a thumbs up and got out of his car. "I'm gonna go pick out some movies. It won't take long, but I still want you to come in."

I followed him in and admired the luxury of his furniture and decoration. He laughed whenever I stared at something extraordinary with my jaw hanging open.

"Go ahead and relax on the couch while I get the movies. I don't really have any more disinfectant, so we'll have to wait until we get back to your place."

I watched him glide up the stairs until he was out of view. He took a few minutes longer than I'd expect movie picking to take, so I decided to snoop around his living and dining room areas.

I shamelessly opened a few drawers to feed my curiosity and found a familiar paper. It was folded neatly on top of several important looking envelopes. Must be important, I assumed. I unfolded it slowly and a memory blossomed in my mind.

When I unfolded it, I found two magazine articles cut out of two different magazines. One was about the sightseeing in Thailand and the other about Morocco. At the time it was a sick joke to get me to "cut it off" and change genders-if I chose Thailand, I would basically be agreeing to cut off my manhood and becoming a girl. My initial feeling was the irritation. "Is he really still trying to find a way to convince me after all of these years?" I thought with a scowl. But when I looked at them more closely, I realized I was wrong.

Red marker made notes on both articles, circling and underlining some text and putting question marks near some. When I kept looking, I figured out that Karma was planning an actual trip with me to either Morocco or Thailand. I found another folded piece of paper under the ads and unfolded it without hesitation. It was a comparative chart with the pros of going to either country, but I didn't get a chance to read them all.

"Watcha stealing, Nagi'?"

I jumped from guilt and spun around to face Karma. I still had the papers in my hands, so I leaned against the counter with it behind me.

"W-Well, I was just curious," I tried to put the papers in my back pocket discretely. "You were taking longer than I expected, I got bored, and…"

"And you decided to steal my things?"

"No! I just...you have so many drawers. Most people don't need these many drawers."

"You can critique my living styles all you want on our way to your place, but I wanna start these movies," he lightly shook the bag slung over his shoulder, and I heard the clanks of DVD cases rattling together. I noticed a slightly deflated duffel bag in his other hand, and Karma noticed my confused glare.

"Oh, this?" Karma shook the duffel, and I nodded in confirmation. "I have a lot of movies to show you, and I don't want to drive home late."

"Y-You're gonna sleep over?"

"Yeah."

"Where are you gonna sleep?"

"Yup."

"Karma, that didn't answer my question."

Karma had turned his back and made his way to the garage, never answering my question and even ignoring it. I asked him several times on the ride home, but he used his expert skill to avoid answering every time. By the time we got to my place, he was able to direct my question about where he'd sleep to his favorite fruit to put in salads.

We made our way inside and began to settle-I hung his coat for him and went to start popping popcorn, and Karma picked out a movie to put in the DVD player. I excused myself to clean my cut in my bathroom.

I took off my dress shirt and peeled off the bloody paper towels, hissing at the sting. I was busy searching my medicine cabinet for disinfectant and a gauze pad, so I didn't notice Karma approach me from behind and grab my wounded arm and inspect it.

"Huh? I thought you were going to start the movie," I watched as he didn't react and instead grabbed one of the cotton balls I took out and doused it in the disinfectant. "Karma, I told you that I'm okay. You don't need to be a worry wart, I can do it myself."

"I just want to help, Nagisa. It'll go faster, so just…" His voice trailed off, and I knew he was still upset about not preventing my injury. I just let him slowly put the soaked cotton ball on my cut, giving me a warning before it made contact. "This'll hurt a little, but I need to do it. Tell me if it's too much."

I seethed at the violent sting from the chemicals reacting with my open sore. My eyes were squeezed close, but I felt the cotton ball retreat. I encouraged him to continue; if he didn't get it over with, I felt the pain would last forever. I knew he was uncertain, but he continued anyway and rubbed gently all along the length and width of it. Once he thought the cut was clean, he threw the cotton ball away and gradually pressed the gauze pad and strapped it down with bandages.

"All done."

I opened my eyes and saw Karma's concerned expression from before while he still held my wrist. I sighed and turned to face him, slowly pulling my arm free.

"Karma, seriously, it's okay. Go get the popcorn and settle on the couch so we can watch one of your stupid movies."

"They're not stupid," he huffed, crossing his arms defensively with a smirk on his face. "You'll like the first one."

On his way out, I tried and failed to make him trip and fall over. He only spun around to stick his tongue out at me mockingly and skip out.

Once I was sure he had left, I took the folded articles and notes from my pocket. I didn't want to take too long, so I hid them behind my mirror as discretely as possible. I threw on my pajama shirt and rushed downstairs, welcomed by the sight of Karma at the end of my couch with a blanket over his lap.

"How'd you find the blanket?"

"Well, I was just curious. You were taking longer than expected-"

"Shut up, Karma."

"-I got bored, and you have a lot of drawers."

"Compared to your house, I have none."

He snickered and pat the cushion directly next to him with a seductive look in his eyes. I rolled my eyes and kicked his leg off the coffee table, but I still sat next to him.

"Hey, c'mere," Karma lifted the blanket on his legs and put his arm behind me. "I know we are just friends, and we're alone watching movies like friends do. But Mito might be watching somehow, and I want to protect you."

I sat there uneasily, and he must have noticed. When our eyes managed to meet, Karma smiled at me and began to tenderly massage the nape of my neck with his thumb and forefinger. I relaxed to the touch and began to believe his words like the truth. We were just friends, so this shouldn't matter.

"Let me turn off the lights first. Movies aren't as fun in the light."

I turned off the main lights and turned on one of my side table lamps, creating a dim glow warming the mood. I sat next to Karma as the movie started, ignoring my pounding heart when he pulled me closer to him and enveloped me in the blanket. I nuzzled into his shoulder blade and wrapped my arms around his waist, simultaneously accepting and ignoring the melting in my chest.

About forty minutes into the movie, I was confused with the plot and irritated with the main character. The main lady was in a 'haunted' house and saw several supernatural happenings, but she kept wandering for no reason.

"What is she doing?" I voiced my complaints to Karma, who seemed very amused with my bothered rants. "She saw a knife levitate from her drawer and stick in the wall right by her face. She almost died! Why is she still there? This is so stupid-AAH!"

The long lasting silence was suddenly broken by a heavy wooden door smashing open against the wall. I screamed in panic and clung to Karma, burying my face into his chest.

"Not so stupid anymore, huh?"

"Now it's even more stupid! It's a cheap scare they used because the rest of the movie sucks!"

"It got you pretty good, though. You screamed like a nine-year-old girl."

"Sh-Shut up!"

I eventually brought my face out from hiding and watched the rest of the movie (the ending was as stupid as I thought it would be) and moved onto the next one. The night was filled with six different horror films, my occasional screeching, and mutual critiques. Eventually, it was 1:53 AM, and I was beginning to drift to sleep. My head was tucked under Karma's, and his scent was lulling me to slumber.

"Hey, Nagi'," Karma gently shook me until my eyes opened. "Go get ready for bed. I'll go ahead and make the couch sleepable for me. Is that fine?"

Disappointment fluttered somewhere in my chest for an unknown reason, but I nodded sleepily and dragged myself to my bathroom. By the time I had finished my nightly hygiene, Karma had done his in the guest bathroom and started making a bed on the couch.

I watched him from the bottom stair, peering around the corner and feeling strange guilt thinking about his tall body being cramped on my tiny couch. I sucked in a breath and stepped around the corner once I was sure about what I was about to do.

"Uhm, Karma…" He looked up from fluffing one of my couch pillows. "You don't have to sleep on the couch."

"Hm? Then where do I sleep, on the floor? You don't have a guest room."

By the look in his eyes, I could tell he knew what I was implying. Somewhere inside me, the reason for my hesitation, begged Karma to say it for me. But he wouldn't, so I had to force the lump back down my throat to get it over with.

"I bought a queen sized bed a little bit ago, so there's enough room for you." Karma's eyebrow shot up, and the corner of his mouth twitched up. If I wasn't completely exhausted and too worn out to care, I would have wanted to die at that exact moment.

"Mito could come back early tomorrow morning and see you sleeping on the couch like I got mad at you or something. He'll find a way to use that against our plan, so…"

"Nagisa, sweetie, are you asking me to sleep with you?"

"Sleep next to me on a large bed, yes." My tired, sour mood was starting to come out, so I grabbed his wrist and started tugging him upstairs. "Let's go to sleep, I'm exhausted. Then, whenever I wake up-"

"We?"

"I'm sleeping as long as I damn well please, so our plans completely depend on when I naturally wake up."

"Wow, what a dick."

"Love you, too, fuck face."

When I opened my bedroom door and closed it behind us, I was almost instantly on my bed and snuggled under the thick comforter. I faintly heard Karma snicker before the light I saw behind my eyelids extinguished and the bed dipped under his weight. Moments later, I slipped into blissful unconsciousness.

I don't know what, but something woke me up at 5:36 AM. I was much less than satisfied once I realized I was awake, and I was ready to obliterate what woke me. My eyes adjusted to the dark room barely illuminated by the moonlight, and I looked around to see Karma sleeping soundly facing me.

His typically groomed hair was tussled and stuck to the pillow. I had never seen him so relaxed, his face free of stress and body slightly curled into itself. I noticed that his arms were bent and close to his face, one of his thumbs very close to his mouth. I giggled at the possibility that my tough-guy best friend used to suck his thumb as a little kid. I didn't notice I was staring until Karma shifted slightly and groaned, creating a very unexpected thought to blossom in my mind:

"He's so cute when he's sleeping…"

The absurdity of the thought didn't process through my weary brain, and I instead decided to dwell on it. I watched as his fingers twitched, probably dreaming of fighting if I knew anything about him. Small noises escaped from his slightly open mouth, reminding me of a sleeping puppy having the running dream.

A strange yearning to slide closer to my sleeping friend overcame me, and I allowed myself to adjust where our noses could touch if I leaned forward one inch. Without really thinking, my hand moved itself to just barely graze Karma's cheek with the fingertips. He reacted slightly to the touch, flinching away for a mere second before subconsciously nuzzling against the tips.

Something fluttered within my chest, and I smiled before sleep took over my mind.


	4. Questions

I woke up naturally, feeling fresh and rested, and nearly tumbled out of my bed at the sight of Karma's face dangerously close to mine. His eyes were already opened, and he chuckled at my reaction.

"I woke up earlier, and you were practically kissing distance away from me," he sat up on his elbow and propped his head up, smiling down at me. "Since you like your sleep so much, I didn't want to wake you up my moving. And here we are."

I gave him a confused look and choked on my gasp when I remembered the events of the night before.

"Woah, Nagi'. Are you okay?" I barely heard Karma's concern over my coughing fit.

Memories of Karma's sleeping face and the flutter in my chest I had when I looked at him then. Did I really think my best friend was cute? My best MALE friend?! I figured my mind was too caught up in the fake-date ruse, so I desperately blamed it on that possibility.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine," I spoke between coughs. He put his hand on my back, patting it roughly to help me breathe. "I just need something to drink."

Despite my protests, Karma jumped out of bed and rushed to the kitchen. I heard the pitter-patter of his bare feet on my hardwood stairs.

I clutched my chest, feeling my heart attacking my rib cage and my breathing shorten. Vivid flashbacks in terrifying detail of the night before took over my thoughts. He looked so peaceful and innocent; if I didn't know any better, I'd think he would never hurt a fly. I couldn't believe I honestly thought my boyfriend was cute.

Best friend. BEST friend. Not boyfriend. Best...boy-BEST friend!

My mind was completely scrambled, and I nearly screamed when Karma appeared next to me with a tall glass of water. Just as I was trying to calm myself down, I noticed that his pajamas consisted of a loose, white tank top and read-and-white striped pants. I was sent into another coughing fit when I felt the heat flush through my face looking at Karma's muscular, bare arms constricting around me and clenching the glass.

"Hey, I got you," Karma pulled me close and slowly brought the glass to my lips. "Take very small sips. There we go, good job."

He encouraged me with every sip I took and rubbed my back soothingly. Eventually, I stopped coughing, but I still felt feverish. Once I felt stable Karma was ready to let me go, but I clung to him without thinking. He continued comforting me without another word, and I asked myself why I didn't want him to leave. I realized this was weird and let go of him reluctantly.

"You good?" I nodded wordlessly, and Karma took a quick look at my bandaged bicep. "Alright, I trust you. You rest here, I'll go get ready. The diner should be open by now, and I think we'll get a good seat if we head out soon."

Oh, right. The breakfast date. I forgot that that was the reason Karma had slept over.

"Oh, okay. Are you going to take a shower?"

"Yeah, why. Wanna take one with me?~"

"No, I just don't want you to take a shower in the guest bathroom the same time I do," I crossed my arms and hoped he didn't notice how his comment affected me. "It would waste the hot water."

Karma laughed and walked downstairs, deciding to let me shower first while he just sat around. We were both done getting ready around half an hour later, dressed proper enough for a date but casual enough for being at a diner.

"Maybe we'll get a better parking spot today," Karma talked casually while he escorted me to his car. "Not too many people should be there after the incident yesterday."

"Yeah, I guess," I sat in the passenger seat and clicked my seatbelt. "I hope no one got too hurt. That crash was serious."

"I heard no one died, so you can rest easy," he started driving effortlessly, shooting my a flirtatious glance every so often. "You're such a worrywart, muffin."

"You suck at pet names."

"I told you to come up with some better ones, and you never did. Tough shit, cupcake."

I scowled at him before looking out the window. I suddenly remembered the night I thought of a long list of pet names that could make My Little Ponies throw up, and my cheeks burned from embarrassment. Unfortunately for me, Karma noticed my shy behavior.

"Have you thought of some just now?"

I anxiously tugged at my fingers and the hem of my shirt, and I looked at them intently in hopes to avoid eye contact. I knew he wouldn't let up, and I had a small urge to share anyway.

"Well, they're too disgusting to say without exploding," I raised my eyes to watch things flash by beyond the window. It was a way to express confidence without looking at his challenging eyes. "I think we would both be better off never saying them in public."

"You act like I care."

"True," I sighed and shook my head knowingly. Karma was very rarely embarrassed. "Well, I'm warning you. They are quite stupid."

"Quit stalling and gross me out."

"Well," I sucked in a breath and felt some bubbling in my chest I fought down. Even though we were pretending, I still found it hard to say. "I figured that pet names should be personal and related to either appearance or personality, so I thought-"

"Say it already."

"Fine! My pet name would be Blueberry Muffin, and yours would be Strawberry Shortcake," I looked anywhere else with determination. "Because, I mean...blueberries are blue, and I have blue hair...and strawberries are…"

I trailed off and tugged anxiously on anything I could get my fingers on. I could feel him staring at me, and my insides burned and fluttered under his gaze. I knew I shouldn't have said anything, and humiliation made me want to vomit.

"Wow, you're right," Karma finally spoke after a string of silence that felt like an eternity. I didn't realize the car was parked very close to the diner until I looked up. Once I raised my chin, he took it into his hands and turned my face to his. "You look like you're about to throw some cookies."

Oh, if only he knew. If only he knew the mass amount of cookies I would have thrown in every direction if he hadn't let go of my chin and backed away. I took the time it took for Karma to open the door for me to regain my composure. He led me to the diner's front doors, and we were instantly given a table in the empty area.

"I can't wait for my delicious pile of breakfast shits," Karma greedily eyed the menu, leaving me confused and uncomfortable with his statement. "Do you know what you want?"

"Yeah, I get the same thing every time," I scanned the menu for my usual order. I never had the chance to go very often, but it was my favorite place to eat for breakfast.

"I do, too, but I think there's something new I'd like to try…" The tone of his voice worried me, but I didn't think enough of it to care.

The waitress came by, and we ordered our drinks-Karma asked for a specific sounding coffee, and I felt lame for only requesting a cup of apple juice.

"Apple juice? Don't you think that's a little childish?"

"If drinking apple juice is childish, then being a child is delicious."

We laughed and talked normally while we waited for our waitress to come back. I saw her approaching our table with our drinks, and Karma must've seen her as well. When she was only a few meters away, I felt his sock slowly caress my leg under my pants. I squeaked and pulled my leg back quickly, earning a suspicious gaze from her while she gave us our drinks cautiously.

"Did ya'll get yer orders t'gether, or do you stunnin' yun' men need a bit more time?"

"I'm ready," I picked up my menu and found what I wanted. "I would like the special combo two with sausage instead of bacon. Eggs scrambled, please."

"Alrighty! An' what about you, sugar?"

"I'll have the super stack of pancakes, biscuits and gravy, a fried ham sandwich to go, and," Karma paused for a split second and let his eyes lock with mine only for that time just before continuing. "...a blueberry muffin."

I immediately tensed up and stared at him with wide eyes. The waitress didn't notice my disturbance and instead focused on Karma's smile. She took our menus and left, leaving me alone with a vicious, skilled predator.

"Something wrong, Nagi'?~" I looked at him with expectant eyes, internally begging him to never suggest anything that sexual ever again.

I was a fool for asking that.

The instant she returned with our food, Karma instantly went for the muffin and groped for my attention. While maintaining strong eye contact, he slowly peeled the paper off and licked dragged his tongue around his bottom lip.

I desperately looked at my food and began cutting away at my waffles, but Karma drew me back in with a gentle call to my name and his foot sliding up my leg. Like a string tied to my chest, I was pulled back into his game.

"Don't give in, Nagisa. I know you can handle it, Mr. Greatest Assassin," he smiled encouragingly, but my heart still beat at an unbearable pace. I refused to let him know how shaken I was on the inside; I was going to win his dating game.

Once he was sure he had my full attention, he smiled and finished taking off the paper. He started taking pieces of the breaded delight and slowly popping them into his mouth. Shivers nearly shook me from my chair with every small sound of pleasure escaping his mouth with every bite. His foot never stopped rubbing against my bare leg, and it didn't even after he placed the last piece on his fully extended tongue and pulled it in with a long, quiet moan. After he swallowed the remainder of the muffin and licked his lips seductively, he withdrew his foot and smiled at me as if the encounter never happened.

I relaxed my muscles I never knew were tense and slumped over my plate, completely winded and feverish. The sound of metal utensils working against a glass plate came from Karma's direction, so I figured he was giving me time to calm down. Though my breathing evened out and I stopped violently shaking, I kept my head down and started eating.

Our waitress came by when I was almost done eating and politely asked if we were enjoying our meal, but her hospitality was more directed towards Karma. Though I didn't understand why or the feeling specifically, but a sudden sting inside me as if a needle went straight through my heart. When she lingered around and continued small talk with him, my body acted before my brain could even process my action.

"Hey, Karma," I leaned over the table and spoke with a slight whine in my voice. "I'm done eating. Can we go home now?"

Karma nodded and directed his smile towards me instead. As he started searching for his wallet, I shot a dirty glance at the waitress for some reason. She started to back away, but she stopped in her tracks. When we stood up and started to leave, I made direct eye contact with her and grabbed Karma's hand defensively. She basically ran away after we left.

"Wow, that was quite the show you pulled," Karma smirked and swung our hands back and forth, slightly tugging me towards his car. "I didn't take you for the jealous type."

"Jealous?" I frowned.

"Yeah, you looked like you were about to kill her," he unlocked his car and seated me courteously. "I didn't know you could tell if someone was flirting."

I had to mentally recall the past five minutes because I was lost in time. When I ran through the event through my mind, I noticed some things that I didn't process at the time. The waitress seemed completely terrified and was backing away in fear of me. My bloodlust had leaked more than expected, and I was in temporary kill mode. I hadn't let go like that since the beginning of my first teaching year.

"Whoopsie," I rubbed the back of my head anxiously. "I didn't even notice. I wasn't thinking, I guess."

Karma hummed in agreement but didn't say anything else. We spent the rest of the day walking around the town, talking about mostly non-romantic things, Karma insisting on devouring blueberry muffins, me getting very uncomfortable, and so on.

"I'm sure you have some teacher-y things to work on before tomorrow, so I'll leave you be for now," Karma said as he walked me to my door, the setting sun spreading a warm glow across the horizon. "I gotta start working on this important speech or whatever for next week, but it won't take me too long."

"Thanks, I had fun today," I smiled to cover up the sinking feeling. I don't know what I was expecting, but I somehow thought the day would last much longer. "I think I have some papers to grade and make sure the test for tomorrow is ready."

"You seem disappointed."

"As much as I love my job, days off are still a blessing."

He laughed and took a few steps closer to me, raising suspicion and heat through my body. When I gave him my confused look, he hinted subtly to a lightly forested area across the street. I mentally scanned the area and noticed a figure roughly the size of Mito hiding in the brush. I looked back to him and nodded in understanding; we made an agreement that whenever he was anywhere close to us, we would start being slightly more romantic. I wrapped my arms around his waist and nestled my head on his chest. I was waiting for him to push me away, but I was in no hurry to let go first. Until then, we stood in each other's arms in comfortable silence.

"Hey, Nagi'..." Karma's voice muffled by my hair gently broke the silence. I merely hummed softly to let him know I heard him, afraid to move from our position. "We've done most of the couple-y things, right? To seem properly couple-y?"

"Mhm."

"We should look like we're super in love, right?"

"Mhm."

"But we haven't kissed."

I completely froze and tensed, gripping his waist tighter. I could feel my heart frantically attacking my rib cage, trying to escape at any cost. My panic must have been obvious because Karma began rubbing my back soothingly until I calmed only slightly.

"We don't have to, of course," he mumbled into my scalp, sending vibrations down my spine. "It was just a random thought. As much as I tease you, I would never make you to anything you couldn't handle."

I knew he was right. Years ago when he suggested I wear girls clothing to go undercover, I had unpleasant flashbacks to my forced crossdressing before then. Regardless, I fought through the situation just fine.

But something inside of me didn't see this as a threat.

"C'mon. You gotta get inside and do teacher things," Karma started to let go, but I couldn't make my arms do the same.

"...Nagi'?"

"W-We can...kiss…"

I felt Karma retreat slightly to get a better look at me, but I couldn't return the eye contact. He looked at the top of my head for a while, and I felt my face heat up and my heart pulse unevenly. A long lasting pause wasn't broken for a while.

"I-I mean...Mrs. Vitch was always kissing us for no reason, so I'm not concerned about my first kiss anymore…" I tried to stop my voice from fading, but I had to focus on my shoes to do so. "And...and we always had kissing practice for assassination, so…"

"Are you worried because we never practiced on guys?"

"I-I...I'm not worried! I just…" I couldn't think of anything else to say instead. We sat in silence until Karma took my chin between his thumb and softly forced our eyes to meet. "I...I...just…I…"

He smiled my stress away and rubbed his thumb over my cheek. I relaxed to the touch and prepared myself on the inside for what was about to happen: This wasn't my first kiss. I was consenting, unlike with Mrs. Vitch. We were doing it to fool a stalker, not for a serious relationship milestone. I had kissed Kaede unromantically without any issue, and this was the same thing. Once I was confident enough, I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.

The second his lips touched mine, I knew I was wrong; this was NOTHING like the other kisses I've had before.

Firstly, I was expecting the Kiss of Death we used in school. I wasn't expecting a closed mouth, delicate touch of the strangely soft lips on mine. Secondly, the incredible amount sparks being shot through my every nerve paralyzed me entirely. I tried to look much less frenzied than I actually felt, but he let go just when I began to melt into the moment.

"I'll pick you up from work tomorrow, so don't worry about taking the bus home," Karma smiled down at me while I felt reality slowly come back to me. "Go inside and work on making your students suffer."

He quickly poked my nose and walked back to his car, and I watched him get in and drive away. For whatever reason, I didn't go inside until long after I saw his car disappear. I closed and locked the door behind me, and I suddenly felt my legs cave underneath me. I let my back slide against the door, and my arms wrapped around my knees to catch the breath I didn't know I was chasing.

I asked myself many questions and gave myself no answers. Why was that kiss so different that it made my legs unusable? Why could I still feel the tingling sensation on my lips when they were long gone? Why would my body and mind stop functioning when something reminded me of him, and why was I reminded of him so often?

And why couldn't I get him off of my mind, even as I was asleep?


	5. The Fight

The sun rose, signaling the next day, and I felt more refreshed than I had in years. Some of my students noticed my positive mood when they walked into class. When they asked why I was so happy, I didn't have an answer. I had no idea why I was so happy; I just knew that I was.

I sat down at my desk after handing out the tests and watched over the students carefully. I caught a few cheating attempts and stopped them all instantly, but it was much less eventful than most test days. I noticed Mito's lack of active movement or snarky comments, but my unexplained happy mood prevented me from mustering too much concern.

"Alright, you are all free to go! I should have all of your tests graded by tomorrow or Wednesday," I gave them the usual spew even as they all had started leaving as soon as the bell sounded. I heard the hustle and chatter from the mingling students while I made several marks with my red correction pen. I heard hesitant footsteps coming my way, and I looked up to see Mito looking down at his feet.

"Hi, Mito! Need some tutoring today?"

Mito didn't respond. Instead, he stood very still for a few minutes. I was tempted to continue grading, but that felt like a very rude thing to do. Mito still didn't move when the other students had finished fighting each other for the exit and we were the only ones left in the room.

"Mito, are you-"

"Mr. Shiota," he interrupted. I looked at him and waited for him to continue. "Are you...I mean, it's fine, but...that guy…"

Mito continued to fumble over his words, but I waited patiently. His face was turning a bright shade of red. I didn't know if it was embarrassment or rage, but either option made me uncomfortable.

"A-Are you...dating that redhead?"

I could tell he held his tongue from a string of insults he had stored in his mind for Karma and it was taking all of his strength to hold it in. At that time, he lifted his eyes to meet mine, and I knew his face was red from pure anger.

"M-Mito, why-?"

"Answer my question!" Mito yelled, his fists clenching and eyes pricked with tears. I felt his familiar bloodlust bubbling beneath his skin, and I knew it would explode no matter what I answered. I wasn't all too scared, but the simple fear I had inside of me was amplified when I remembered that I couldn't fight him without consequences to my career.

I felt strange shame from being unable to handle this on my own, and it magnified when I started thinking about Karma. I've never felt so hopeless; my insides were begging for Karma to magically appear.

"He's so smart and tactical. He would have a plan in a heartbeat." My thoughts continued to praise my best friend, just as I did in junior high.

"You're not answering me! It's true, isn't it?!" Mito's voice kept reaching new volumes, and I felt at a major loss. His fist collided with the surface of my desk, cracking the wood and puncturing his fingers. I had to subdue him somehow, I realized, so I stood up and began taking slow steps around my desk to him.

"Mito, I don't see why my personal love life affects you," I tried being as gentle as possible, taking only one step with every sentence. "I'll see you all day, five out of seven days in the week. I'm with you more often than Mr. Akabane anyway, so-"

"I don't want to share!" Mito backed me against the blackboard and punched the area right beside my face. I flinched away from the sound, but Mito didn't like that. With his other hand, he grabbed my chin and jerked my head violently to look at him.

"I shouldn't need to share! I want you to be mine!" He was getting very close to my face, and I wanted nothing more than to kick him off of me. "I would treat you better than he ever could!"

"Mito, please-"

"I love you! Why don't you see that?!"

"Mito, please, I'm scared-"

"Am I too young for you?! Too ugly?! Too fucking stupid compared to that government, strawberry top prick?!"

I tried to keep my eyes from darting to the door, hoping every time that Karma would show up to protect me. Shame filled me when I realized how much I depended on him as an adult, and my breath shook from unjustified fear and sadness.

"You don't need anyone else! I can make you ten times happier than he could!"

Our attention was simultaneously forced toward the entrance after hearing the door violently crashing against the wall. Seeing Karma at that moment, the formal business suit still on but his jacket slung over his shoulder, was the most relieving feeling I had ever experienced. I tried escaping Mito and fleeing to my hero, but Mito instantly stepped between us. I looked to Karma expectantly and instantly felt a pang of fear instead.

Karma's reputation was always sadistic and terrifyingly strong in school. He would get into fights daily and enjoyed watching his enemies suffer the consequences. The school feared him so much, his signature smile and dead gaze defined him entirely. His smile made the look additionally creepy because his enemies would get destroyed by an insane junior high schooler.

But with his eyes alone and a scowl stapled to his face, any grown badass would run to their mother leaving a trail of shit in his wake.

That face was of unyielding anger; a volcano on the verge of erupting and killing an entire town.

I could see Mito's body trembling, Karma's stare drilling into him and tearing him apart. Seconds that felt closer to hours ticked by with the motionless, breathless standoff. Eventually, Mito spoke with a broken voice.

"H-Hey! You listen here, politician dick!" Mito took a big breath, trying to still his shaking nerves. "I-I love Nagisa way more than you could ever dream! My gang will destroy you if you ever try to come between us again! I promise, I will kill-"

I blinked and suddenly Karma was a mere three inches from Mito. Just before the jacket he let go fluttered to the ground, his hand was wrapped around Mito's neck. I watched in shock as Mito's feet slowly lifted from the ground and swung desperately in the air.

"What were you doing to Nagisa?"

Mito blinked, focusing more on searching for breaths than Karma's words. I noticed his face tinting blue, but Karma only tightened his grip. When Mito choked violently, he warily let go slightly to let him answer.

"Wh...what are you...talking about…?"

"What were you about to do to Nagisa before I walked in?" Karma's voice increased in volume, and I knew he was getting angrier and angrier. "What did you do to scare him like that?! Is that what you do to someone you love?!"

Mito started choking and sputtering violently in his grip, losing energy in kicking his feet. I knew Karma had the ability to break his neck with just his one hand, so I stepped in closer to him and tenderly tugged on his shirt.

"Karma? Remember what you promised me?" I could hear his teeth gritting, and his arm was shaking with rage. "You're hurting him, Karma."

He ignored me at first, still yelling angrily at him. I kept tugging, pleading quietly for him to stop. It had been a long while since I'd seen Karma angry, but even then it wasn't this bad. On top of needing to acting like my boyfriend, I hypothesized, his subconscious need to protect me was raging inside of him.

I felt responsible for his anger; since I was always so dependent on him, he grew a sense of duty to protect me. It started as protecting me from physical damage, but then it slowly transformed into protecting me from emotional damage. I knew I had to stop him before he killed Mito.

I threw my arms around his torso and squeezed tightly, desperately nuzzling my head into his chest. Something in his body relaxed, and I heard a heavy thud behind me. I looked over to see Mito curled up on the ground, coughing violently and rubbing his throat. Before I turned around fully, Karma's long arms wrapped around me and pulled me close.

"...You okay?" His face was tucked into my shoulder and leaning against my cheek. The soft muffling of his voice, suddenly quiet and remorseful, sent puffs of hot breath on my neck.

"I'm fine, but are you okay?" I pulled away from him slightly and looked into his eyes. Because of his far more superior height, our noses barely touched when we stood normally and bent our heads to face one another.

"...Yeah…" He puffed defeatedly, resting his forehead on mine and looking towards his shoes and not my eyes. I could faintly see the glossy guilt in his eyes even though he refused to look at me. "Sorry."

"It's fine, just relax. It's fine, it's fine…" I continued to comfort him, cupping his face in my hands and humming soothingly. After some time, he took my hands off of his face and held them gingerly in his. We smiled at each other, and he caught me off guard by kissing me passionately.

I got used to the feeling much more quickly that time, throwing my arms around his neck and hoisted myself towards him. Rather than the night before, he thrust his tongue into my mouth and searched every corner. I didn't expect Karma's Kiss of Death, and I certainly didn't know it was so strong. The first hit felt like a bullet, and the second made my brain foggy. I tried my best to maintain consciousness by counting each hit, but I lost count at 36 and began to lose consciousness.

I always thought I was the best at the Kiss of Death in all of E Class, but Karma never talked about that surprising level of skill. A flash of thought crossed my mind when I considered the high possibility that Karma practiced with someone else in secret to get that good, and sudden jealousy possessed my mentality. Just when I was ready to fight back, he stopped kissing me and pulled away.

"He left," Karma responded to my unintentional look of disappointment, and I looked around to find that Mito had grabbed his stuff and left.

"I think you need some rest," he continued after a moment of silence. "I'll take you home, and you can finish your school things and sleep it up."

He combed my hair back into place delicately with his fingers, and I suppressed the pout trying to form. I impatiently grabbed his hand and urged him to hurry and take me home. With an arm full of tests for me to grade, he dropped me off and I found myself watching him drive off the horizon like the day before.

I immediately settled in my office and organized everything to start grading the tests.

"Okay, so, he got number one wrong because he didn't factor correctly…" I whispered to myself while I got lost in correcting each question and writing helpful tips by each one. My mind vision blurred as I began to zone out.

"Who did Karma practice on?" My mind began to wander even though my pen continued to mark. "He's really good. He's so good, he could've gotten personal tutoring from Mrs. Vitch. But he didn't seem the type to ask for help. Did he practice with Rio? Besides me, he did hang out with her the most...and I heard somewhere that she had a crush on him…

"But, regardless of romantic feelings, who wouldn't take the opportunity to kiss him?" I vaguely noticed the smile spreading on my face, my head going from leaning on my palm to resting flat on my arm. "He's confident, super smart, playful, really nice to me…"

I jerked back to reality, blinking confusion from my eyes and looking at my desk to remind me what I was doing. I gasped at the sight of the many, tiny red hearts I doodled absentmindedly on my student's test. In a panic, I tried writing relevant pointers to disguise each one.

"Wh...Why did I…? What was I…?" I spoke with a quaking buzz. I gave up on grading, well aware that I would never be able to finish grading that night, and made my way to my bathroom.

After rapidly splashing my face in hot water and forcing myself to get ready for bed, I slowly climbed into my squishy mattress to settle in for bed. Since I forgot to wash my sheets, Karma's familiar scent punched me in the nose and sent unbearable heat to my cheeks.

"Why does Karma make me feel like this?" I asked myself over and over again, fiercely searching for an answer. When a theory crossed my mind, I shunned it instantly in complete fear.

There's no way, I told myself. There's no way...


	6. RAP it Up

I shot up and started coughing violently, flat out terrified about the dream I just woke from. I looked at the time and realized my alarm wouldn't go off for another hour. My heart was pounding against my ribcage, and I couldn't catch my breath no matter how hard I tried. As much as I wanted to forget it, I knew I had to recall the dream in order to decode it. I relived it mentally as I went to take a very cold shower for a very good reason.

I was in my classroom with Karma and Mito. Karma was threatening Mito with a tight grip around his throat, and I clung to his jacket as I tried to calm him down. Just like before, Mito fell to the ground with a forceful thud and Karma hugged me. Again, he pulled me into an ardent kiss with his strong arms around my waist. He lifted me closer to his height, and I supported my weight by throwing my arms around his neck. The same sensation shocked my nerves with some increased intensity.

But this time, we didn't stop.

Our tongues danced intensely, skipping between doing the tango and playing tug-of-war, and his hands slid down to my rear and thighs. I never noticed Mito leaving, but I knew he was gone when Karma slammed my back against my desk and moves his lips to my neck. I felt a strange heat in my gut with every expert move Karma pinned against my body. Sighs of unmistakable pleasure filled the room along with other M-18+ rated sounds filled the room, and I woke up before I could explode from embarrassment and something else.

By the time I was done recalling the dream in every detail, I found myself sitting in my tub, the shower head dousing me in pellets of ice cold water. My body was shaking, cold and afraid, but I didn't get out until all the aroused and embarrassed heat left. My alarm was buzzing by the time I eased my wrinkled figure from the tub and turned off the water.

I had an idea why I was feeling that way, but I refused to accept it. Accepting it would mean it would be true, and it just couldn't be true. Any excuse birthed in my mind, and I tried to make any of them a reality.

'Dreams just take parts from the day and mashed them together to make a random scene, right? It definitely has nothing to do with my personal feelings, right?'

'We've been acting like we're dating for so long, my brain was probably tricked into thinking we really ARE dating. It's not real.'

'I've never been romantically interested in anyone before. After participating in such a sudden romantic act, my body must be reacting strangely to it.'

'I'm straight. I mean, I have to be. People don't have their sexual realizations in adulthood, so I would've found that out before now, right? Right?!'

No matter how much I tried, I couldn't ignore the obvious. I pulled a towel around my body, hugging myself protectively while I stood up to clean a small section of the mirror for my face. I looked at my exhausted reflection, hair wet and tussled with red eyes staring right back, and took a very deep breath.

I had no choice, I knew it. I had to admit it, even if I didn't want to. I opened my mouth and spoke to my reflection with a weary voice.

"I'm in love with Karma."

Once I heard my own statement, foggy tears instantly ran down my cheeks. A choking, gasping sob erupted from my guy, and I slid to the cold, tile floor in tears. My knees tucked into myself, and I enveloped myself with the towel like a cocoon.

There, I said it. I had to believe what I as denying, and it hurt more than I thought it would. My weeping echoed off of the bathroom walls while I shamelessly cried over my crush like a high school girl.

"Was this part of your plan, Karma?" I asked out loud to no one in particular. "Did you plan on making me fall in love with you? Was it supposed to hurt this bad?"

My heart broke at the thought of Karma playing with my feelings for no reason, but then a flashback appeared to prove me wrong. I remembered when he held me so gently, giving me the best feeling in the world, and looked into my eyes sincerely. He smiled at me and spoke with his typically soothing voice.

"I would never do anything to hurt you."

Nostalgic warmth lifted my spirits, and I suddenly remembered that my alarm had been going off obnoxiously for at least ten minutes. Karma didn't say he'd pick me up that day, so I had to come up with a plan fast.

"So what'd you wanna talk about so suddenly?"

Sugino and I were at a nice cafe just after school hours. I asked if we could meet up, but I hadn't told him why. In junior high, he was my closest friend after Karma. And, for obvious reasons, I couldn't talk to my crush about what to do about my crush.

"Well, Sugino," I fiddled with my fingers anxiously, and my face heated up when I thought about what I had to say. "You remember Karma?"

"Oh, the rotten tomato?" Sugino shrugged and leaned back dismissively. "How could I forget? What'd he do this time?"

"No no, he didn't do anything," I laughed at his reaction. "There's just something I need advice for, but I can't ask him about it."

"Oh, sure thing, Nagisa. What's up?"

"I, um," I tried to talk, but anxiety built a dam in my throat. I knew I had to fight through; I didn't want to be like this around Karma forever. "I may have developed a...a small...tiny, little...crush...or something…"

"Woah! Really?!"

"Not so loud! We're in a public place!" I hushed him with raspy urgency.

"Sorry, sorry. I just...I have a lot of questions," he put his face in his hands and breathed deeply. "First: you're gay?"

"I guess."

"I feel like you should be a little more sure about what you're into."

"Look, I just found out yesterday. I'm just as surprised as you are."

"Yeah, I guess...I just never expected it," I could tell it was trying to settle in his mind, that it was taking some time to register. "Second: you have a crush on the sadistic tomato?"

"Is that what you call him?"

"Everyone in class did. Terasaka thought it was pretty funny."

I nodded in agreement and stared into my cup of tea longingly. Since I accepted my feelings, it seemed like most of my questions had been answered. Now I only had to figure out what to do from there.

"Was there a little happenstance that made you realize that you're into freaks?"

I, instead of dwelling on the insult of my crush/obsession, explained the entire situation. I told him about Mito's stalking, Karma's plan, and all the events since then. I even told him about the dream I had (sparing the details, or course) and the realization I had.

"Woah, that's...woah," I could tell he was trying to let everything sink in. "That's...that's a lot of gay."

"...Thanks, Sugino."

"So you need help confessing your feelings to your best friend, and that's why you came to me?" Sugino stated bluntly and pointed to himself with his thumbs confidently. "You've come to the right place! The Love Doctor is in and ready to work!"

I laughed and internally judged his true romantic skill. I didn't say anything, though, because I knew it might hurt his feelings.

"Alright, so you're already sixty percent through the RAP method," Sugino paused for dramatic effect, but I only gave him a very confused look in return. "You're supposed to ask what the RAP method is."

"I don't listen to rap."

"That's not what I meant, smartass," we laughed at the joking insult, and I let him continue. "RAP is an acronym I made up. It's for people like you who recently discovered love and don't know what to do about it. It's a short step-by-step program on how to deal with it.

"The first step is R: Realize. You need to realize what it is you're feeling and not live in denial. I don't think I need to explain this one for you, so I'll move on.

"The second step, A, is Acceptance. Realizing doesn't do anything if you keep denying it. You've also done this perfectly well, so I'll get to the point.

"The last step is P: Planning. You need to ask yourself some questions about what you want to do with your feelings. Do you want to begin dating, or would you rather stay friends? Are these feelings strong enough for you to want something more? Then, figure out where to go from there. Pretty simple, really."

"Wow, I guess you're right," I sipped my tea in thought. "Considering your vast knowledge in the field of romance, I'm surprised you're single."

"...It's a choice, okay?!"

"Sure, sure," I waved my hand dismissively and leaned back in my chair. "But what do I do? I don't know if he's even into guys. It's different when a girl likes a guy or vice versa because there's a much higher chance for the other to be romantically interested. But there's a lower population of homosexual people in the world, so-"

"Nagisa, shut up," Sugino interrupted. "Get that weak ass sauce out of my salad because who cares? If he's willing to make out with you and not be phased, I think he'll be okay with actually dating you. Hell, I think he'd even go with making your dreams come true."

"Sh-Shut up!" I swear the temperature outside shot up ten degrees, and I was just reacting to it.

"I think your best bet is to tell him," Sugino merely laughed at my floundering before continuing. "I'm not really the best with homo relationships, even if it's no different from hetero relationships, so I suggest talking to Maehara."

"Maehara's gay?!"

"...Didn't you know this? He started going out with Isogai years ago."

"Isogai is gay, too?! And they're dating?!"

"...You really are clueless."

I defended myself rightfully; why would I obsess myself over everyone else's personal lives? That's their business, not mine.

"Don't worry about it, man," he leaned his elbows on the table and surprised me with his suddenly stern tone. "He's not going to hate you or anything. Rejection hurts, but that's the most it'll do. I can almost guarantee that he'll be up for it anyway, so you don't need to worry about it."

"...Alright. Thanks, Sugino." He nodded and smiled at me, giving me confidence. My phone started buzzing in my pocket, so I slipped it out and felt my body tense up. Sugino looked at me knowingly and mouthed 'answer it' very exaggeratedly.

"H-Hey, Karma!" I spoke into my phone, tugging on my pants and smiling sheepishly. "What's up?"

"You sound happy," Karma's deep voice gave me a happy flutter in my chest, and I squirmed in my chair fighting down a giggle.

"Oh, do I? I've just been relaxing," I tried to sound normal, but I knew I was failing. I felt Sugino's judgemental glare, and I actively chose to ignore it.

"Well, then what I have to tell you will make you even happier."

"Ooh, really? Tell me what's what, my tasty strawberry shortcake.~" Sugino rolled his eyes and made a gagging motion.

"You don't have to worry about Mito anymore."

My stomach dropped and my smile failed. I shouldn't have felt so bad; that was the goal all along. But I couldn't help the sinking feeling. "Why?"

"I think he's scared of me now," Karma continued, oblivious to my disappointment. "I went to your school's principal today and asked to speak to Mito. I could do that because my politician shit job kinda deals with monitoring school board management, so no one asked. The second he saw me, he tensed up and freaked out."

"You didn't hurt him, right?"

"Of course not. Have a little more faith in me," he said, mocking an offended tone. "I just told him how he was making you uncomfortable and asked him politely to stop. I think he just realized how not-okay he was acting and decided to stop."

"Oh, that's fortunate," I twirled one of the longer locks of hair by my sideburns. "So...he's okay and he won't stalk me anymore?"

"Yup! Mission success!" I could practically hear his fist pump through the phone, and I laughed at the thought. "Since he's off your tail, he'll probably stop trying to nose into your love life. In that case, we could stop with this charade if you want-"

"No!"

My horrified scream caused several heads to turn towards me, shooting me concerned and annoyed glares alike. Sugino, who was too busy playing with something on his place, shot his head up so fast he hit the back of his head on his chair and writhed in agony. I quietly apologized to everyone before returning my attention to Karma.

"I-I mean...I don't think we should stop yet…" I spoke in a hushed whisper. "I mean...what if he happens to see us not romantic and stuff? He might think we broke up, and…"

"So you want me to be your fake boyfriend until, what? Until he moves on?"

"W-Well...I, um…" I looked at Sugino, eyes pleading for help. He cocked an eyebrow, and I dramatically mouthed 'he wants to stop'.

He held up a finger and fished for something in his pocket. He pulled out a folded, crumpled piece of paper and handed it to me. When I unfolded it, my eyes brightened, and I mouthed 'thank you'.

"I thought we could go to the fireworks festival this weekend," I tried making my voice sound casual as if I weren't reading off a promotional poster. "I heard some of my kids talking about it, so Mito should be there. Fireworks are super romantic, too, so I figured…"

There was a long string of silence before I heard Karma chuckle from the other side. "Sure, sounds like fun. When does it start?"

"The fireworks start at eight, but we should meet up earlier to get a good spot. I think they have snack booths and stuff around, so we don't need to get dinner before."

"I'll pick you up at seven, 'kay? Text me the details later."

"Yeah!"

"I gotta go. Work and shit like that. See ya then."

"Yeah! Sure! Bye!" I hung up reluctantly and smiled at my screen. I laughed and swayed slightly until I noticed Sugino staring at me with his suggestive smirk. "...What?"

"You preparing to get laid?"

"Sugino!"

He laughed at my flustered reaction, and I threw small chunks of my bread at him. With his hands out in defense, he kept trying to convince me to 'practice abstinence until we're both ready,' and I was ready to punch him in the naval.

We spent the rest of the day hanging out, and I was starting to feel a lot less overwhelmed. I was able to keep my mind off Karma enough to go home and finish grading the tests. The next day at school, I was feeling refreshed as I passed back everyone's tests.

"Yo, Nagisa…" I looked up from my desk and smiled at one of my students.

"Yeah, what's up? You have a question?"

"Yeah, uh," he looked at his test with a creased forehead.

"So I heard you started dating some dude," I quirked my eyebrow and nodded slowly, mildly afraid this confrontation had something to do with Mito. "And I heard you were pretty happy with him, right?"

"Is there a point to this, Yosuke?"

"Well, I was just wondering because," Yosuke turned the front of his test towards me, and my face began to pale, "there are a lot of drawings on here that look like they used to be hearts?"

I tried thinking of an excuse, but he continued before I could talk.

"I'm not into dudes, Nagisa. Also, this is kind of illegal."

I threw my palm onto my face, nearly stabbing myself with my pen. I angrily reminded myself how much love sucks while truthfully explaining (leaving out most details, of course) why those hearts were in no way meant for him. He left satisfied when I told him I'd change the test grade from a fifty-four to a one hundred.

Even though it wasn't directly his fault, I blamed Karma for everything.


	7. Fireworks

Saturday came around faster than I would have preferred. Since Karma was going to pick me up at seven, I decided to schedule my panic several hours before. I had three different outfits laid out, and I couldn't settle on one for the life of me. I didn't know if I wanted to be proper, casual, or festive.

It was a date and a very important one at that. I wanted to make a good impression, even though we were already good friends. There was nowhere else to go but down, but I still cared. Besides, a black suit with a blue, silk tie did seem over-the-top. I didn't want to look desperate.

If I chose casual, I wouldn't need to worry about getting it dirty. We were watching fireworks in the middle of nowhere, after all. Sugino said something like 'playing hard to get', but I never had the patience for that. 'I want my boyfriend, and I want him now!' I proclaimed to the t-shirt and jeans on my bed.

The festive floral shirt and flare pants still didn't seem like a very option. The fireworks were to celebrate the 100th anniversary for some guy doing something good or whatever, so I wore something celebratory looking in honor of some guy I don't know. I knew it was government related, so I figured Karma would care. Probably not.

After fifteen minutes of weighing my options and switching out certain outfits with others, I settled on an old Kimono I wore years ago (and still fit, sadly) for a different event. A text message from Karma interrupted my walk to the bathroom, and I checked my phone with a smile.

Karma 5:42 PM: hey what are you wearing? I dont want to show up in a completely different outfit than you :P

Nagisa 5:42 PM: I'm wearing the kimono I wore for the festival we had during high school. I figured it would be the most fitting /:

Karma 5:43 PM: cool can i get a pic? ;3

I tensed in my seat, unaware that I had migrated to sitting on my toilet lid while getting lost in texting. My eyes drifted uneasily to the kimono draped over my counter, a blush creeping up my neck to my cheeks. Karma must have noticed my hesitation and messaged me first.

Karma 5:45 PM: You don't need to wear it, I was just messing with you. I'll buy a new one because my old one doesn't fit. I grew, unlike some people. X3

The text with good intentions made everything worse. Slowly, I started reassuring myself, and I had the strong desire to send a picture of myself in the innocent festivity wear. With my heart beating more aggressively than a taiko drum, I took a steady breath and began changing.

I despised how the kimono made my slender body look so feminine. Though I wore this years before, it fit exactly the same. Blue checkered silk fit my especially small figure, the green sash holding it together and sitting comfortably on my waist. I tried complimenting myself to ease away from my uncomfortable state. Eventually, I made eye contact with myself in the mirror and decided I was ready.

I wasn't the person to take selfies very often. In fact, I may have never done one before that night. My arm was too short to capture my entire body, and I couldn't use the mirror because it only showed my upper half. All of the camera options were beginning to confuse me, and my thumbnail was anxiously bitten past the skin. Around ten minutes later, I angled the front camera down to fit myself on the tiny screen in my hands. I sent the picture in a spasm of embarrassment without looking at the quality, and I waited with my heart ready to jump from my throat.

A violent buzz from my phone shook me from my fetal position, and I was shy to answer it. Excitement sent shudders down my spine when I read his text and unintentionally saw my picture.

My kimono was visible and easy to see, but my face was too distracting. In the picture, half of my face was covered in such an obvious and vibrant red that I had to check if I had a fever. I had my hand, fingers shyly curled in, over my mouth as I nibbled on my fingertips. I could hardly believe it was me; looking at it gave off such an innocently seductive mood. Karma's text didn't make the situation any better.

Karma 6:04 PM: oooo gimme a few minutes ;3 that pic is too much for me~

I threw my phone on my bed and dove into the sheets, blushing uncontrollably with raging fire flowing to undesired areas. Time passed quickly as I ignored my need and snuggled into my sheets, so Karma's rhythmic doorbell ringing ripped me from a sleep I didn't know I fell into.

In my frenzy, my comforter tangled itself with my legs. Running with a thick sheet restricting my legs down some stairs is much more difficult than previously expected. My violent tumbling was loud enough to earn Karma's concerned yell. I heard my front door slamming against the wall and heavy, rapid footsteps growing louder.

"Nagisa?! Na-" his voice cut off abruptly, and I assumed it was because he found me in my shameful position. I was face down, knotted in the cover that cushioned the fall. A warm pair of hands started helping me out of my predicament, and I opened my eyes to see Karma's well-polished face very close to mine.

"Hi," I croaked nervously with a sheepish smile, and I was rewarded with his gorgeous smile-laugh combo.

"Yo," he replied simply before helping to my feet. "I guess you got a little excited, huh?"

"N-No no, I just woke up. I was afraid you were waiting for too long," I responded, trying my best to sound normal. Though, since I accepted my feelings, Karma's mere presence didn't make my insides literal jelly.

"Alright, if you say so," he seemed to believe me, and he leisurely slipped his arm around my waist. "Let's go. I want to get to there before all of the food is gone."

"I'm sure they have plenty, Karma."

"Oh ho, my love, you underestimate the appetite of the people in this town. There's nothing but fat asses around here."

It was seven thirty by the time we got to the open field littered with lawn chairs and blankets, people chatting about whoever and laughing about whatever. I felt giddy abashment when I thought about the numerous stares and me and Karma walking around. There were jealous looks from many women, and I knew they were looking at Karma with hungry eyes. Defensively, I stopped walking and pulled my tall, red-headed fake-boyfriend into a sentimental hug.

"Oh, where'd this come from?~" I locked eyes with him, and I smiled flirtatiously. The urge to kiss him was unbearable, and I shamelessly fell to the need. Glares from the girls shot daggers at my back, but Karma's lips were like ecstasy. Unfortunately, we were forced to separate.

"Woah! Nagisa?! Karma?!"

I practically jumped out of my skin and spun around to see Muramatsu cooking at one of the booths, effortlessly serving a customer while looking at us agape. At that moment, I wanted nothing more than to crawl into a hole somewhere and die, but Karma pulled me towards the ramen booth unphased.

"It is you!" Muramatsu had sent off the previous customer and was free to pester us. "I didn't know for sure, but here you are! Are you guys, like, a thing now?!"

I looked at the dirt and nodded silently, but Karma had other plans.

"Yup, we're gay as shit. I might be able to sneeze rainbows. Don't worry, it's not contagious."

I shot him an angry look and discretely kicked him in the shin. He winced slightly but not much, and Muramatsu started griping over something.

"Damn, he was right," he mumbled under his breath. "I don't have twenty dollars just sitting around. Maybe he forgot…"

"What are you talking about?" I asked with a curious yet suspicious frown.

"Terasaka and I made a bet in junior high on whether you guys would hook up or not," he angrily stirred the soup with his ladle, making his expression much less intimidating. "Most of Class E knew about the deal, and it was around half and half. I was the only one stupid enough to put money on it."

There was a string of silence between Karma and me as the weight of the information tried breaking our casual stances. Muramatsu continued talking about how kind of angry he was about losing the bet but happy for our 'romantic union', but my mind was beating itself up for not realizing I was super gay back in school.

Our classmates actually shipped us together? I thought back to my junior high days and tried piecing the signs together. Karma and I hung out a lot, and I seemed like the only person he'd actually listen to. I was the only one who could stand his violent and cocky nature, and we worked really well together.

But with the happiness I felt about being shipped with my more-than-crush, the harsh reality of it all settled in. Karma and I weren't really dating. Hell, Karma probably didn't even like me the same way I felt for him. And to make it worse, I was taking advantage of his help to satisfy my gay needs. My lofty mood began to sink like a boulder in the middle of an ocean, and the transformation must have been evident in my face.

"Oi, Nagisa...You doin' alright? You look a bit sick." I blinked a few times in confusion, slowly processing Muramatsu's comment.

"O-Oh! Yeah, I'm fine. I think I'm just a bit hungry, that's all," I laughed, hoping my excuse was valid enough. "I haven't eaten anything in a few hours. Think I could get a bowl of your best?"

"Do I make anything else? Comin' right up! And for you, Mr. Akabane-Shiota?" Karma gave his order while I blushed uncontrollably at our married name.

We got our bowls and sat somewhere to eat quietly, a wall of pure awkward sitting between us. Once we both finished and Karma returned from throwing our disposable bowls away, his successful wrecking ball attempt instantly warmed my heart.

"I was tempted to eat the plastic bowl, hoping that was the actual meal. Liquid cardboard with salt flavoring wasn't in the food pyramid as far as I know."

I burst into snorty laughter, making Karma perform his sexy, genuine laugh. He stood and walked to my side, helping me stand and stealing my hand in his.

"Come on, the fireworks are about to start," he smiled and kissed the top of my head.

A normal conversation sparked between us as we tried finding a spot to sit. I found a spot somewhere, but Karma wouldn't budge when I tried pulling him towards it. I started to question him, but he shushed me and winked suspiciously. The next thing I knew, we were running off to the nearby nest of trees like a pair of teenagers up to no good. I didn't know where we were going, but I didn't care. I was too distracted by the romance movie scenario playing in my head where we were running off to make out by a tree or something.

After a few minutes of running in mystery, we escaped the brush to a high cliff away from the crowd. Below, sparkles of light from the candles and flashlights from the people resembled a bustle of fireflies. The view was amazing, with the quiet city on the horizon and the firing zone a safe distance away. Karma had already finished laying the picnic blanket over the grass by the time I finished admiring the view.

"This place is great! It's like getting the front row seats!"

Karma sat on the blanket and pat the spot beside him seductively, and I eagerly plopped beside him and nuzzled under his arm.

"Hey, they're starting!"

I looked up to the sky just as a portion the navy blue burst into a vibrant red, a parallel sound shattering my eardrums. Without a moment to rest, another one of green shook the air. Hundreds of perfectly organized fireworks constantly kept me amazed, and I rested my head on the nook of Karma's shoulder. I felt his head lean on mine, his arm holding me kindly.

I was at complete peace in his arms. Something about his hold felt genuine, loving even. I realized, however, that all of this was fake to him. I felt certain anguish, the painful thought of this moment never happening again tearing me apart from the inside.

I wanted to be like this with Karma forever, but I wanted it for real.

I knew I had to tell him, and I knew he wouldn't think any less of me. I knew he wouldn't judge me for my sexual preference. I knew he wouldn't shun me and treat me like a wild beast. He would accept me. We would still be friends. With all this in mind, I took a shaky breath and tried to speak.

"K-Karma? I want to...tell you something," I choked out. Karma looked at me expectantly, and the crushing reality settled in unbearably.

All of those facts didn't stop my fear of rejection from sucking the air from my lungs.

Random consonants and broken words fell from my mouth, and Karma's pressuring stare didn't help any. Hundreds of paranoid scenarios ran laps in my mind, and I began to shut down mentally. His eyes were filled with the sort of kindness I'd only ever seen directed at me, and I couldn't stand the possibility of that gaze turning cold.

I was so scared. I was so scared I could only talk in gasps and sputters. I felt the heat flush my face. Haunting images of Karma's harsh, cold, judgemental face looking down on me flashed before my eyes. My eyes began to water down, and his honest face began to fog.

Karma laughed suddenly. In minutes, he was in a fit of giggles, and I was lost on what to do next. I looked at him, speechless.

"You know what's funny?" He managed to cough out a phrase in his hysterical laughter. I frowned, signaling him to continue. "Well, let me start with this: you don't need to say anything more."

"Huh…? How do you…" Before I could finish, Karma shifted his shoulders to face me and used both of his hands to bring my face to his. I wasn't expecting our lips to meet, and the natural way his lips moved mine shocked my eyes wide open.

"I love you, too, Nagisa."

Everything shook around us, the apex of the fireworks display cheering us on excitedly. I was in stunned silence, dream-like disbelief glossing my features. He smirked at my expression, and I knew it was impossible for him to lie with that look. Joy was ready to burst from my every pore, and my eyes scanned the gorgeous face so close to mine.

I saw how devastatingly delicious that smile was on his face, and I realized that I didn't need to hold back anymore.

I impatiently slapped his hands away and dove for him like a starved lion. We threw our arms around each other and let our hands explore eagerly. Next thing I knew, Karma had me pinned to the blanket, hands on my rear, and my limbs were clinging to him desperately. We tore away, panting heavily onto our faces. Our gazes locked, eyes glazed over with admiration, and we laughed together like two dorks in love.

"How did you know?" We calmed down and snuggled into each other's arms. Karma was smothering me in butterfly kisses across my face, an action so unexpectedly romantic from my sadistic best friend. "How did you know I like you?"

"That's what's funny," he mumbled into my hair, the vibrations from his voice sending delightful shivers down my spine. "You're just as bad as noticing people's feelings towards you as you are hiding your feelings towards other people."

"I was that obvious?" I huffed disappointedly, whining into his neck. "I tried to keep it secret. It's embarrassing…"

"You're not very good at this love thing."

"Shut up!"

"Could-have-been World's Best Assassin over here, can't even mask his feelings."

"Hey! Assassinating and loving are two different things!"

"Mrs. Vitch did a better job than you, and she couldn't do anything right."

"I'm not so sure if I'm feeling the love here anymore. This feels a lot more like abuse."

"Comparing you to Mrs. Vitch is abuse?"

"One-hundred percent."

Karma laughed and held me tightly, kissing my forehead lovingly. "You know I love you."

"...Yeah," I blushed and mumbled into his chest, drawing nervous circles on his chest.

"Nagi', I'm hurt. This is starting to feel kind of one-sided." Despite his complaints, I nuzzled deeper into his chest to hide my blushing face. He shook me playfully, trying to get an answer from me. "Come oooooon. Nagi'...say it…"

"S-Say what?"

"Nagiiiiiiii'..."

"Karma, you're acting like a child-"

"NAGIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII'"

"Okay, okay!" I giggled, getting fed up with his whining and tickling. I fought for the freedom of my arms and used them to bring him closer. Our noses touched, and I forced myself to look him in his eyes.

"I love you, Karma."

"I love you, too, Nagisa."

I pressed our lips together, and another make-out session ensued. This time, Karma took it all a step further. Hands on my ass, he squeezed. I moaned unexpectedly in response, and he instantly thrust his tongue into my open mouth. I was too far gone to be embarrassed; his very touch and taste were too intoxicating for me to care. I let Karma suck away at my neck, and I shamelessly ground my hips against his leg. Pleasure tingled my senses, making me lost in the world of my fantasies. I was regretfully brought back when I felt the cold air hit my bare shoulder, and I noticed Karma's grip pulled my kimono off my shoulders. Though I really didn't want to, I pushed him away and pulled the cloth on my shoulder again.

"Hey," I stalled while catching my breath. "How about we take this somewhere a little more private?~"

"My my, are you trying to seduce me?"

"Maybe.~ So how about it, straw-ber-ry short-cake?~" I ran my fingers up his torso, adding pressure with every syllable. I could tell his mind was racing with dirty thoughts, and I felt like a rabbit under his lusty, predatory gaze.

"Looks like I'm having a blueberry muffin for dinner," Karma growled, scooping me up and hastily throwing the blanket over me. I watched the trees speed by in a brown and green blur as my prince carried me off into the night.

I thought this romance was to trick Mito into leaving me alone, but Karma used it to trick us into true love.


	8. Marriage

I woke up to the sunlight sliding through the open blinds, knocking on my eyelids harshly. I opened my eyes and blinked my awareness back, and my senses reminded me of my location. Cool, spongy blankets covered my lithe body sinking fit into the memory foam mattress below me. My thoughts could vaguely recognize the familiar arms tucked protectively around me, and I smiled when my hand grazed the cold band on one of the fingers.

It was Saturday morning; neither of us had work, but we both had stomachs. Days off typically deemed me as the housewife for the sake of hilarious satire and something to eat in the morning. Carefully, I unlinked Karma's fingers and shuffled out of his arms.

Five years, I mused. Five years since we tied the knot and I moved in with Karma. Seven years since we started dating. Neither of us meant for the relationship to move so fast, but neither of us felt it was rushed. It just...happened.

I recounted a handful of moments that lead us there, just enough to keep my mind occupied while I made a small batch of pancakes, eggs, and bacon. Just as I was making a plate for each of us, I heard Karma's groggy steps slamming down the steps.

"Mornin', sleepy-head," I sang, receiving a drowsy wave in return.

"Mail," he said bluntly, directing a lazy finger to the front door. I laughed and dismissed him with a nod. By the time I had finished making our plates and putting them on our dining table, Karma had woken up and returned with a stack of mail in his hands.

"Anything worthwhile?" I asked. I watched his unamused stare read each envelope and his hands put them aside. Suddenly, his eyes widened and his eyebrow quirked in the rare and adorable way it did when he got confused.

"Yeah, I guess so," he stated while he handed me the white envelope, freeing his hands to eat. I looked at the return name and address and gasped.

"I-It's from Mito!" Karma nodded, continuing to pick at his eggs with an angry stare. "Don't be so bitter-looking, Cakie. It's been seven years, I'm sure he's over me. Look, I'll read it. Just don't break the plate, those are expensive."

He shrugged and ate more delicately, but his classic life-breaking stare was still directed at the innocent plate of bacon. I laughed and neatly opened the envelope.

"It's a wedding invitation!" I exclaimed, making Karma choke on his food. He assured me he was fine ("You don't need to freak out, Nagi'." "You could have died!" "After the shit I've been through, I'm not going to be done in by a short stack of pancakes.")

"'Dear Mr. Shiota Nagisa and Mr. Akabane Karma,'" I read the invitation. "'Hello, teacher! It's been a long while, I know. I heard you got hitched. Congratulations! First and foremost, I'm sorry about freaking you out or whatever all those years ago. As you can see, I've moved on!'"

"Yeah, you better, little bitch," I barely heard Karma mumble under his breath. I shot him a glare of disapproval, and he feigned ignorance.

"'I met this lovely girl a little after I graduated, one thing led to another, and she said yes! I included a picture of us if you want to see.'" I fished inside the envelope and took out a laminated picture of a young man and a pretty young lady under his arm. "Wow! He's changed a lot! And she's really pretty!"

"Yeah, he seems to be doing pretty well for himself," Karma commented bitterly, peering over my shoulder at the picture. "He doesn't look that different, though. I mean, he's smiling…"

"Oh yeah! You only saw him during our second semester," I put down the invitation momentarily. Karma raised an eyebrow, ushering me to go on. "He was much worse when I first started teaching him. He had tattoos all over his shoulders and arms; I could only see them because he always wore this baggy tank top and basketball shorts. One day, he showed up with a mohawk and weird beads on each point. I think he was screwing with me at that point."

"Ah, so your typical gangster," Karma rolled his eyes and chuckled. I could see his eyes fog over as he reminisced about his more violent days.

"He was always trying to show off his knife skills of whatever, but I have a feeling you would laugh at his display."

"Oh, I bet."

"I guess when he started liking me, he started cleaning up a bit," I continued. "He shaved his head and grew his hair out normally, and he gelled it every morning. I could tell because the crap he'd put in his hair could be smelled from miles away. He still wore basketball shorts, but he had better T-shirts to cover most of his tattoos."

"Ah. So, in a way, you helped him get this girl?"

"I wouldn't say that," I said sheepishly, rubbing the back of my head and laughing nervously. "I didn't even know I was making him do that. I just...thought he was getting his life together on his own."

"Hey," Karma got up from his seat with his plate in hand, walked over to grab mine, and kissed my cheek gingerly. "You did a good job, teacher. Don't sell yourself short, muffin."

"Thanks," I smiled and waited patiently for him to come back to the table. "You are the sweetest husband."

"Don't say that…" I heard him mumble, and I looked up to see his blushing face. So cute, I thought. I realized we had gotten off topic, and I picked up the invitation again.

"Well, the point is...he looks like he's gone into business. He's all grown up and groomed..."

"Oh, ho! Looks like I might have a new guinea pig." I shot him another disapproving glare, and he just stuck his tongue out at me and winked. "I'm just saying."

"His fiance is pretty, too," I handed Karma the photo.

The girl had long, black hair that looked smooth as silk pulled into a loose ponytail. She had fair skin and crystal blue eyes, a perfect contrast to her deep peach dress. She was gleefully clutching Mito's tuxedoed forearm, her pearly whites shining through her lips coated in crimson lipstick. Mito was looking at her with the same longing eyes Karma gave to me, and a smile did look a lot better on his pale cheeks than the threatening scowl he wore in the past. His hair was short and combed neatly; I would never have known his gang-style past by looking into his far softer eyes.

"Woah, he seems to be doing pretty alright for himself," Karma lifted the photo, tilting the gloss paper curiously. We locked eyes for a moment, and he laughed at scowl. "What? You jelly?"

"Speak for yourself. You almost shattered your breakfast plate with your death glare earlier just because we got a letter from Mito."

Karma didn't answer and instead decided to disregard the comment completely. He flipped the picture around in his fingers, apparently inspecting it closely before giving it back to me.

"Is that all the letter said?"

"Mostly," I took the beautifully cut craft paper (Mito's fiance must have done it; no matter how much he changed, there's no way he could've done it) with the handwritten message back under my investigation. "He apologized, talks about his fiance-Akemi's her name-how he really wants me to meet her, more apologizing, and why he wants you to come with."

"And why's that?"

I inspected the note more closely and smiled. "He wants to apologize to you personally. I really think he's changed, Karma. He's even getting married. Come with me, okay?"

He remained unamused, bitter even. Smiling, I slid closer to him and put his head on my shoulder. In the seven years we'd been together, I'd formulated a routine to calm the rowdy redhead. With one hand I gently caressed his cheek with my thumb, and the other gently twisted the tiny hairs at the nape of his neck. His body relaxed when I started murmuring comforting words only for him.

"You coming with me?"

"...Yeah." Karma straightened and kissed the side of my nose, a spot that always sends me into a fit of giggles.

"I love you, Karma."

I love you, too, Nagisa."


End file.
